Super Fast Body Blast

The moves in this workout are well described in the other reviews here, so I won't rehash. I chose this workout on this day because I knew I wouldn't be at home and needed something that required no equipment and could be done before work while making as little noise as possible. Plus, I didn't have to pack sneakers. It fit the bill in all of those requirements.

I have done several Ellen workouts and they all have an element of grace to them, this one is no different and includes her signature happy feet move, though in this one it was less hopping and more side to side squat steps.

For a shorter workout, this was surprisingly repetitive, which I believe another reviewer mentioned. I found myself watching the clock and attempting to do math on how long I had been at it.

I love this one! 30 minutes of cardio toning. No weights are used but lots of large body movements to get heart rate up. I feel like it is a great cardio workout when you don't feel like doing much, because its deceptive, it starts off easy but is a good solid workout. The only thing I would watch are the lunge pivots. These are dangerous and I don't know why any instructor would add them especially at such a fast pace. I just do them a lot slower.

Ellen leads this 30 cardio & muscle conditioning routine in a ballet studio w/ 2 background exercisers, one performs modifications. The ladies do not wear shoes & no equipment is required for this routine.

The warmup is built into the workout; exercises include: step touch, chair pose, overhead wave & knee pull, toe tap -arm wrap, rainbow lunges, static hold & arm twists, and giant step & reach. Ellen breaks each segment down and then you perform the segments together at the end for a few rounds, breaking down each time s you go.

I rate this a high beginner routine that is great for all levels. This is a great little routine- Ellen is her usual happy self, great cuing & excellent form pointers. Very low impact but I did get my heart rate up. I received this dvd to review.

Ellen is energetic and friendly usual. The first sequence begins with a step-touch move, which Ellen calls "Happy Feet" then we add alternating overhead arm reaches. We move into side lunges with "figure 8" arms; Ellen puts a little twist on this by pushing the heel (not the entire foot) on the floor; i.e., a flexed foot press. This really challenged my balance! From a lunge position, we move into chair pose by shifting our back foot forward w/knees still bent. We do this on the other side, then repeat alternating sides a few times.

The second sequence begins with giant steps (wide plie steps) to one side with an overhead arm reach, then the same move on the other side. We repeat these alternating steps a few times, then hold steady for toe-taps with an overhead arm stretch before transitioning to a wide stance with arms waving overhead. Ellen adds another layer by bringing one knee up diagonally across the chest, then returns us to wide-leg stance (aka "horse-stance"), where we stretch our arms out at our sides and flip our palms up and down (a Jane Fonda/later Tracy Anderson move.) We repeat the entire second sequence, then repeat both sequences several times. After a brief cool-down, we do some alternating side lunges stretches, then return to center for spinal roll-up and standing cat-cow stretches.

The workout moved at a nice, steady pace and provided me with fun low-impact cardio, albeit a bit repetitive. There were some decent toning benefits as well: I never fail to "feel the burn" when I have to continually hold my arms up, the lunges provided decent lower-body toning, and the flexed foot lunges really worked my balance. Overall, you get a pretty good bang for your buck in just 30 minutes! Oh, and I loved the Bollywood music, too - very upbeat!